Free Dirty Little Secrets by Kierney Scott Page B

cutting.
    “One you seemed quite eager to make, which got me thinking.”
    “That must have been a change for you.” She smiled, a placid expression that did not reach her eyes, almost like she could turn off her emotion. But he had seen her lose control before. He knew the passion roiling just below the surface. And he knew that below the bitch was a brilliant woman.
    “Indeed.” Despite himself he smiled. Megan McCoy was hard work, almost excruciatingly so, but James had never been averse to a challenge. “Would you like to know what I have been thinking?”
    “Not really. I would prefer it if you left and never came back. And I would really like it if you told your army of photographers to stay off my lawn and out of my business.”
    “I told you before; I don’t tell my journalists what to report, ever. I don’t manipulate the media. If it’s news, it’s reported, no matter what.”
    “You say that like you are proud of that, like there is something noble in what you’re doing. Who consenting adults sleep with is not news. The world is not a better place for knowing that.”
    She looked even younger now without make-up, her freckles darkened from the sun. She looked vulnerable and that bothered him, or more to the point he was bothered that he cared. He had a job to do. He didn’t have time to consider the ice queen’s vulnerabilities. She was not his responsibility. He would leave it to her husband to care about her.
    “I’m not trying to make the world a better place, just a more honest one. People need to be held accountable for their actions.”
    “Why are you here?” Megan closed her laptop and returned it to her canvas bag. “I am not supposed to get visitors. It could interfere with the treatment process.”
    If James was not mistaken, there was a hint of disdain in her words. “I’m here because I wanted to speak to you. I have done a bit of research on you and I’ve discovered a few interesting things.”
    Megan blinked; a flash of panic shot through her eyes like lightning, gone as quickly as it appeared. “Should I be flattered that you are wasting time investigating me?”
    She fascinated him; the hard edges, the caustic words, the tiniest glimmers of emotion. They all made him curious, intrigued even. The fact that she held this much of his attention after sex was noteworthy. “It was hardly a waste of time. It was fascinating what I found, or actually, what I didn’t find. Until thirteen years ago you did not exist. You were completely off the grid. You have no history, no record, nothing. Almost like Megan McCoy was created.”
    Megan’s eyes narrowed but she did not break her stare. “I thought you were a journalist, not a fiction writer. Oh my mistake, they’re synonymous, aren’t they?”
    James was edging closer to the truth. “You go on the attack to avoid direct questions.”
    “Was there a question? I thought you were just pontificating. I know how men love to hear their own voice.”
    “You want to know what else I learned?”
    James could see Megan thinking, deliberating. “Not really. I need to get back to work. I’m starting a new case next week.”
    James held out his finger to make a point. “See, now that is funny. You have just experienced what I can only assume is the most humiliating event in your life, and you are not using this time to reflect or regroup or any of the other bullshit you’re meant to do in rehab. You’re working on a case. It’s almost like you don’t care.”
    Megan’s mouth tightened before she spoke. “You know nothing about me. And we’re going to keep it that way. Print anything you want. I know the truth.”
    Her words were so guarded, giving nothing away about her feelings. He would be tempted to think she had none, but the woman he had taken to bed had plenty of passion. There was emotion in there somewhere. She just kept it very tightly guarded. “Here’s the thing. I reckon I’m starting to figure it out too. And it